Editorial: Cyprus Airways gets it right… at last!

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There is hope for our national carrier after all. The troubled airline’s management has submitted a counter-proposal to the trade unions and the Ministry of Labour mediation service that foresees 250 redundancies and wage cuts of 5% to 19%, with lower-paid staff getting smaller reductions and the highest-paid dishing out the most. The latter category involves management and senior flight crew with annual incomes of more than 120,000 euros.
Although the unions will, as anticipated, fight the wage cuts, they should also realise that there is no other way to keep the airline afloat. The pay reductions, fewer benefits and increased work hours will save the Flying Moufflon some 17 mln euros, making it more attractive to potential buyers, such as the Canadian Triple Five Group.
The latter seems to have lost interest in the airline, for now, unless if it is waiting for the finances to be put in order and then to make its final move, appearing as a white knight and winning the bankrupt government some more votes in time for the elections next February.
Of course, the unions had initially been excited about the prospect of a new investor coming in, not realizing that redundancies and pay cuts would be top on the agenda. Perhaps the deal involves the current management making the necessary sacrifices and the Ghermezians buying a lean operation.
Whatever the outcome, the airline could have introduced these measures a year ago, which would have made it much more competitive during the winter months and well-prepared for the critical summer period. If Triple Five gets its hands on CAIR, then it will also be looking to better utilise the precious slots at Heathrow, probably for pilgrim travel from Canada and the U.S. to the Holy Lands, while working out a deal with the Turks to lift the flyover-embargo for flights from Russia will bode better for the company and its staff.
All that is left is for young blood to be recruited, especially the kind that are more customer friendly and smile more often.